Surviving Capitalism (Not) : #London2012: an Olympian exercise in corporate greenwashing

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

#London2012: an Olympian exercise in corporate greenwashing

Click here to access article by Phil England from Ceasefire.

Global corporations that trash our environment and our health will, once again, use the Olympics to enhance their image. Global corporations are co-opting and soiling some of the best contributions that youth have to offer the world--health, fitness, and physical prowess.

Amidst its lofty rhetoric about excellence and sustainability the London Olympics have chosen some of the world's most unethical companies as corporate sponsors. Phil England presents powerful first-hand testimonies from victims and campaigners dismayed and angry at this betrayal.